Gaming machines such as mechanically driven slot machines have been a staple of the gaming and entertainment industries for years. With the advent of computers, electronic forms of gaming machines such as video slots, video bingo, video poker, video keno and video blackjack have emerged and become increasingly popular. Such electronic devices continue to grow in popularity with the development of enhanced computer-generated graphics and sounds, making them more attractive to a wider audience of participants.
With the recent growth in the electronic gaming machine market, competition between manufacturers to place their equipment in available venues has become fierce. When selecting which machines to put into their facilities, the operators of gaming establishments give substantial consideration to their patrons' perception of a game as being entertaining and exciting.
One aspect to providing excitement in play involves how often a player receives a payout and at what amount. Player preference in this respect is as varied as the machines. That is, there exists variations in the manner machines provide such payouts and consequently, some players desire some machines more than others based on these differences. For instance, some gaming machines provide a payout with low frequency, but of significant dollar value. On the other hand, some machines provide low dollar amount payouts but with relatively high frequency. Other machines provide variations in between. Ultimately, one need with these and other systems is that of encouraging continued play.